Wall-type container for tooth brushes



June 1957 R. w. ALVES WALL-TYPE CONTAINER FOR TOOTH BRUSHES Filed Feb.18, 1954 I I I INVENTOR.

RAYMOND W. ALVES AT TORNEIYS United States Patent WALL-TYPE CONTAINERFGR TGOTH BRUSHES Raymond W. Alves, Woodside, Calif.

Application February 18, 1954, Serial No. 411,098

3 Claims. (Cl. 312206) The present invention relates to improvements ina Wall-type container for tooth brushes. It consists of thecombinations, constructions, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

As the cardinal object of this invention, it is proposed to provide acontainer of the character described, which may be readily mounted on awall of a bathroom, or the like, with a forward portion of the containerbeing exposed in the room, while the remainder thereof is effectivelyconcealed within the wall. Moreover, this container is adapted to hold aplurality of tooth brushes, maintaining them in a sanitary condition,yet permitting the brushes to be withdrawn individually.

Another object is to provide a container for tooth brushes, which isfashioned with a depressed forward portion arranged for theaccommodation of the bristles of the brushes. This portion is made insuch a manner that it may be easily cleaned, well ventilated, and soconstructed that the brushes may be inserted into or withdrawn from thecontainer with facility and ease.

A still further object is to provide a slotted face plate, which may beinstalled over an opening formed in a building wall, and so designedthat the housing of the container may be anchored to this face plate,with a portion of the housing extending into the wall itself.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues.The novel features of the invention will be set forth in the claimshereunto appended.

Drawing For a better understanding of my invention, reference should behad to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my wall-type container for toothbrushes, disclosing it as being mounted on a building wall, parts beingshown in section;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken through themidportion of the same container and wall;

Figure 3 -is a transverse sectional view taken along the vertical planeTIL-III of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the device, as observed from theleft hand side of Figure 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should beunderstood that various changes, or modifications, may be made withinthe scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirtthereof.

Detailed description Referring to the drawing, it will be noted that 1provide a housing indicated generally at A, which is fashioned with acompartment B. The latter is dimensioned to have a plurality of toothbrushes C inserted thereinto in substantially parallel relation with oneanother. Broadly speaking, this compartment defines an elevated rearportion B1 adapted for receiving the handles 10 of the brushes; andfurther provides a depressed forward portion B2 arranged foraccommodation of the bristles 11 of the brush heads 12. Anupwardly-extending wall 14 is disposed between the bottoms of thedepressed and elevated portions, thereby precluding moisture in theformer from draining into the latter.

As shown in Figure 2, the housing A has an opening 15 in the forwardportion thereof giving access to the compartment B. This opening definesan inclined marginal rim 16 extending diagonally across intermediatesections of the brush heads 12, when the brushes are disposed in thecompartment, thereby leaving parts of the brush heads positioned formanual grasping. The housing has a wall 17 at the bottom of thedepressed portion B2, and the inclined rim 16 extends downwardly to thiswall, thereby facilitating the cleaning of this portion of thecompartment.

For the purpose of providing a closure over the opening 15, I make useof a cover D, which is hinged at 18 to the housing. This cover hasinclined sides 19 disposed for resting on the marginal rim 16, when thecover is closed. Upon raising the cover, as shown in Figure 2,substantially unobstructed access may be had to the depressed portionB2. A handle 20 has been disclosed on the cover D to permit the latterto be raised or lowered.

It will be realized, of course, that the brushes C may be placed in thehousing while still wet from being washed. Accordingly, ventilating anddrainage openings 21 are fashioned in the bottom wall 17. Moreover,additional vent openings 22 are formed in the cover D to aid in thecirculation of air over the bristles of the tooth brushes. 7

In order to facilitate the manufacturing of the housing A, the latterhas been shown as being made in upper and lower parts A1 and A2,respectively. These parts are abutted one against the other and aresecured together by screws 23. Dowel pins 24 may be provided forassisting in aligning one part with respect to the other (see Figure 3).

Reference is made to Figures 1, 2 and 3, wherein it will be observedthat partitions 25 are arranged in the elevated portions B1 of thecompartment B so as to separate adjacent tooth brushes C. It ispreferable that these partitions do not extend into the depressedportion B2, and thereby the latter may be cleaned more readily afterraising the cover D and removing the brushes.

Although I do not desire to be limited in respect to the type of wall towhich my container may be applied, I have shown a wall E in Figures 1and 2. As illustrated, this wall includes sheet rock 26 having tile 27secured thereto by mud 28. This tile is provided with an opening 29,which registers with openings 30 and 31 formed in the sheet rock andmud, respectively.

When using this type of wall construction, a slotted face plate F ismounted over the tile opening 29, and has serrated anchoring prongs 32projecting from the back of the plate into the mud. It is quite apparentthat screws may be utilized for securing the plate F directly againstother types of walls, such as wood, plaster board or sheet rock.

As clearly disclosed in Figures 1 and 2, the housing A may be telescopedthrough a slot 33 in the face plate F, with the housing extendingthrough the openings 29, 30 and 31. Moreover, the exterior of thishousing has a vertical shoulder 34 thereon, which is adapted to abut theplate F to thereby limit the inward telescoping of the housing relativeto the building wall E.

An anchoring rod 35 is fixed to the face plate so as to projectforwardly therefrom into a bore 36, the latter extending inwardly intothe housing part A2 from the shoulder 34. A set-screw 37 is provided forremovably securing the rod 35 in the bore 36.

Various attachments may be supported on the housing. For instance, atube 38 of tooth paste has been shown as being held against theunderneath surface of the bottom wall 17 by a pair of spring arms 39.The latter may be anchored to the wall 17 by screws 40. As shown inFigures 2 and 4, the forward ends of these arms maybe interconnected bya bar 41 extending ther'ebetween, this bar being provided with anoperating knob '42. The latter may be depressed to allow the tube oftooth paste to be withdrawn.

I claim: a

1. In a wall-type container for toothbrushes: a 'housing provided with acompartment therein, which is dimensioned to have a plurality of toothbrushes inserted thereinto; a slotted face plate mounted over an openingprovided in a building wall; the housing having a rear portiontelescoped through the slot of the face plate and the opening in thebuilding wall; the housing further having a forward portion projectingin front of the building wall; an anchoring rod fixed to the face plateand being telescoped into a bore fashioned in the housing; and meansremovably securing the housing to the anchoring pm.

2. In a wall-type container for tooth brushes: a housing provided with acompartment therein which is dimensioned to have a plurality of toothbrushes inserted thereinto; a slotted face-plate mounted over an openingprovided in a building wall; the housing having a rear portiontelescoped through the slot of the face-plate and the opening of thebuilding wall; means anchoring the housing to theface-plate; thecompartment defining an elevated rear portion for receiving the handlesof the brushes, and providing a horizontally-arranged bottom wall; thecompartment further having a depressed forward portion arranged foraccommodation of the bristles of the brushes; the depressed portionproviding a bottom wall disposed below the level of the bottom wall ofthe elevated rear portion; the housing providing an upwardlyextendingwall disposed between the bottom walls of said portions to therebypreclude liquid from draining from the forward bristle-receiving portionof the compartment to the rear handle-receiving portion thereof.

3. In a wall-type container for tooth brushes: a housing provided with acompartment therein which is dimensioned to have a plurality of toothbrushes inserted thereinto; a slotted face-plate mounted over an openingprovided in a building wall; the housing having a rear portiontelescoped through the slot of the face-plate and the opening of thebuilding wall; means anchoring the housing to the face-plate; thecompartment defining an elevated rear portion for receiving the handlesof the brushes, and providing a horizontally arranged bottom wall; thecompartment further having a depressed forward portion arranged foraccommodation of the bristles of the brushes; the depressed portionproviding a bottom wall disposed below the level of the bottom wall ofthe elevated rear portion; the housing providing an upwardlyextendingwall disposed between the bottom walls of said portions to therebypreclude liquid from draining from the forward bristle-receiving portionof the compartment to the rear handle-receiving-portion thereof; thehousing having partitions confined to the elevated portion thereof toseparate the tooth brushes from one another; the bottom wall of theforward bristle-receiving portion being unobstructed by said partitionsto thereby facilitate cleaning of this portion of the compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS889,542 Otto June 2, 1908 1,371,193 Berge Mar. 8, 1921 1,951,585 TomsonMar. 20, 1934 2,231,505 Meyerson Feb. 11, 1941 2,673,641 Carrillo Mar.30, 1954

